The MicroTrain Blog

Dear Geeks (and the non-geeks who love them),

The world loves you because you help them get what they want.  Broken computer? You get their computer to work properly. No internet? You can make the internet come back again. Email down? You bring the email back up. These are skills that are in demand, in as much as people understand how badly they need those skills.

You don't think about aspirin much, do you? Why would you? Well, if you had a headache, you'd think about aspirin a lot (especially if you couldn't find it immediately). And once you took some aspirin and your headache went away, do you spend time thinking about aspirin again? Of course not.

So break it down into problem and solution and you realize no one thinks about the solution (you) until they have a problem.

But unless you happen to have an interview while the boss's computer breaks down and you fix it, what good is that? Well, if you understand how and when people think about technical services, you can better position yourself to make yourself more attractive.

This means that instead of just listing your skill-sets (which I'm sure are legion) and your certifications (no longer optional in many technical fields), you need to make the hiring boss understand why they need the solution you provide. You need them to feel the problem.

How do you do this? Cover letter, mon frere. Can you think about a time in which you fixed something? Great. Tell the story. Don't talk about how you rewired a switch or updated the firmware (no one cares about the solution), but explain how the problem happened and what problems it caused. Did the problem affect the entire company? Were hundreds of people standing around with nothing to do because the office file server went haywire? Think about the loss of productivity (better yet, describe the loss of productivity in dollars lost!) and how you swooped in (you don't need a cape or anything) and fixed it, bringing peace back to Metropolis (okay, there may be too many Superman references here).

That's a cover letter. If you can even bring some of that "Let me show you the problems you will be facing" stuff into your resume before you list the many ways you are a solution, you will cut your job search dramatically.

What do I mean by soft skills? Well, they are the skills that involve our personal traits. We can sometime loss sight of them because they can be somewhat elusive. We perform them naturally and sometimes with little effort. For instance something as natural as being friendly, believe it or not, is considered a soft skill. Perhaps another reason we overlook these important skills are because of those ever so present technical or hard skills. Technical (hard) skills show our ability to read, write, type letters or use software programs. They are not only marketable, but are teachable and measurable. But along with our hard skills, we should also consider our soft skills. We should look at the value of our soft skills because they are important and are seen as an asset to employers. Soft skills offer insight into how we communicate with and manage people, develop work relationships and handle problems. If you are ever on a job interview and you are asked:

Describe a situation when one of your decisions was challenged. What did you do and how did you react?

How would you answer? If you find yourself struggling with the answer, then consider a soft skills inventory. Do a little research. The internet is a good place to start. You can start there to find out what soft skills are. Also, there are some sites that provide soft skills evaluations. What’s more, most employment offices offer aptitude tests, which can help identify your skills. Last but not least, tap into your social source. Discuss this with individuals who know you, both personally and professionally. Ask them to help you examine your personal trait. If you find skills that can be further developed, for instance public speaking/communication, then look for avenues, such an organization...Toastmasters, which can help situation.

So, show off your soft skills. I’m sure you’ve got some great stories to tell about your work life experiences in leadership, as a team participant and/or as the creative/analytical guru behind the scenes.